How to Keep Your Etched Plaques and Signs Clean

Keeping your etched plaques and signs clean is one of the tasks that should not be neglected. After all, if your signs are unsightly or your plaques are dirty, what would people seeing these think about your company? First impressions do last and having clean and impressive looking signs should always be on your list of things to do.

Since etched plaques and signs can be rather difficult to clean, due to the presence of grooves and lines where dirt may accumulate, you will need special tools to deal with this. Some of the things you also need to consider when cleaning these signs include the kind of material these signs are made of. If these are made with specific metals, like aluminum or stainless steel, you may also need to have metal polish on hand to give these the kind of sheen you want.

Before you begin, you should have your cleaning tools with you. These should include clean rags, mild dishwashing liquid, warm water, two pails, a wooden cuticle stick, and metal polish. You start by putting equal amounts of warm water in the two pails you have and adding a capful of dishwashing liquid to one. Dip one of the rags into this soapy substance, making sure that you squeeze out any excess moisture, and start wiping off the surface of the sign or plaque with this.

The soapy liquid will help remove any greasy dirt while at the same time, removing any dust and dirt on the surface, without damaging the metal. To remove the dirt in the grooves of your etched plaques, use the end of the cuticle stick to gouge out the dirt from these cracks and crevices. To ensure that the stick won’t scratch the sign or plaque, you can wrap the end of this stick with cotton or a part of the wet rag you just used.

Once you are done wiping down the sign with the wet, soapy rag, it is time to remove any soapy residue. Dip another clean rag in the other pail of water, the one without the soap, squeezing out the excess liquid again after. Use this to wipe down your etched plaques and signs. Then, take another rag, this time a dry one, and wipe your signs dry.

Once these are dry, you can then proceed to use your metal polish on these signs, if you need to. If your metal plaques or signs are painted over, there will be no need for the metal polish. If these etched plaques and signs are not painted over, you might want to use this polish to give them that shiny and sleek look of newness.